Prevalence of Intestinal Helminth Infections among School Children in Relation to Occupation of Parents and Toilets Facilities in Maru L. G. A. Zamfara State.

The Study was conducted to study the prevalence of soil transmitted helminth parasites among school age children in Maru L. G. A. Zamfara State. A total 600 hundred school children between the ages of 4- 14 years were examined for Intestinal helminth infections using formol ether concentration technique. A total of 152 (25.33%) were found to be infected with various species of intestinal helminth parasites. The study showed five common intestinal worms in the area. Ascaris lumbricoides has the highest prevalence of 32.23% followed by Enterobius vermicularis (21.05%), Trichuiris trichuira (20.39%), Hook worm (13.81%) and Taenia spp (12.50%). Mixed Infections (29.60%) with some species of parasites were also encountered. The studies shows a significant difference between infection and the occupation of parents (P < 0.05). The study also showed that there was a significant relationship between infection and the  type of toilet facilities used (P < 0.05). Data suggested that soil transmitted helminths are important public health problems hence actions is imperative against deficiencies in sanitary facilities, improper disposal of human faeces, insufficient supplies of potable water, poor personal hygiene and health education

A review of geothermal mapping techniques using remotely sensed data

Exploiting geothermal (GT) resources requires first and foremost locating suitable areas for its development. Remote sensing offers a synoptic capability of covering large areas in real time and can cost effectively explore prospective geothermal sites not easily detectable using conventional survey methods, thus can aid in the prefeasibility stages of geothermal exploration. In this paper, we evaluate the techniques and approaches used in literature for the detection of prospective geothermal sites. Observations have indicated that, while thermal temperature anomalies detection have been applicable in areas of magmatic episodes and volcanic activity, poor resolution especially from space borne data is still a challenge. Consequently, thermal anomalies have been detected with some degree of success using airborne data, however, this is mostly in locations of known surface manifestations such as hot springs and fumaroles. The indirect identification of indicator minerals related to geothermal systems have been applied using multispectral and hyperspectral data in many studies. However, the effectiveness of the techniques relies on the sophistication and innovative digital image processing methods employed to sieve out relevant spectral information. The use of algorithms to estimate land surface temperature and heat fluxes are also applied to aid thermal anomaly detection, nevertheless, remote sensing techniques are still complementary to geologic, geophysical and geochemical survey methods. While not the first of its kind, this review is aimed at identifying new developments, with a focus on the trends and limitations intrinsic to the techniques and a look at current gaps and prospects for the future.Keywords: Geothermal, remote sensing, thermal anomalies, indicator minerals, multispectral, hyperspectra

Phytochemicals, Heavy Metals, and Antioxidant Vitamins Assessment in Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) Cultivated Near Cement Company Firm of Sokoto, Nigeria

Even at low concentrations, it is well known that vegetables can readily absorb metals from contaminated soil or deposits on air-exposed plant parts. These metals then build up at high levels in the edible parts of the vegetables. Vegetables are a significant part of the human diet; hence heavy metal poisoning of these food items cannot be understated.  As a result, this study sought to quantify the amounts of phytochemicals, heavy metals, and antioxidant vitamins in tomatoes grown close to the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (Sokoto Cement). Phytochemicals, heavy metals, and antioxidant vitamins were determined using standard analytical procedures. The study confirmed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids tannins, steroids, and volatile oils. The heavy metals detected (Cu, Zn, Cd and Cr) were found below the WHO safe limits guidelines apart from Cr which exceed WHO safe limit guidelines. Substantial amounts of vitamin A, C and E were also observed. It was concluded that tomatoes cultivated in Kalambaina area are safe for consumption in terms of heavy metals

Descriptive characterization of suspected yellow fever cases in Kano state, Nigeria, 2015-2018

Introduction: Yellow fever remains a serious public health problem globally with an estimated 200, 000 cases annually despite the availability of an effective vaccine for more than 70 years. Nigeria had an outbreak of Yellow fever in 2017 after more than 2 decades of silence. We described the epidemiological characteristic of yellow fever in Kano State from 2015 to 2018. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of suspected cases of yellow fever in Kano state from January 2015 to December 2018. A suspected yellow fever case was defined as any person residing in Kano state with sudden onset of fever, with jaundice appearing within two weeks of the onset of the first symptoms from the year 2015 to 2018. We calculated incidences, frequencies and proportions using Microsoft excel 2016 and health mapper version 4.3. Results: A total of 107 patients with suspected yellow fever were reported in the state between 2015 and 2018. The median age of the suspected cases was 13years (range 2-120years) and age group 15-44years had the highest number of cases. More males were affected 69 (64%) with rural local governments having the highest number of patients. Generally, the disease occurred all year round with peaks occurring the wet season mostly in June, July and August. The annual incidence increased from 1.7/1,000,000 populations in 2015 to 2.2/1,000,000 populations in 2016, remained at 2.2/1,000,000 populations in 2017 and slightly decreased to 2.1/1000,000 population in 2018. No mortality was recorded during the reporting period. Majority (99.1%) of the suspected patients had never received yellow fever vaccine. Conclusion: The study revealed no change in the incidence rate of suspected Yellow Fever cases in Kano State. Majority of the suspected cases are in the rural areas where immunization coverage was very low. Routine immunization has to be strengthened to address the problem. The findings were reported to the Kano state Ministry of Health for appropriate action

The Mediating Effect between Some Determinants of SME Performance in Nigeria

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of owner/manager knowledge, competitive intensity, complexity of marketing, technical competence, firm size with the mediation of advisory services on the performance of Nigerian SMEs. The study employed structured questionnaire survey involving a sample of 278 manufacturing SMEs operating in Kano State, a total of 198 valid questionnaires were completed and returned representing 71 percent response rate. Evidence suggests that there is significant relationship between owner/manager knowledge, complexity of marketing decision and technical competence and advisory services. In contrast, the result found no significant relationship between firm size and advisory services. Similarly, the result found that owner/manager knowledge, complexity of marketing decision, technical competence and advisory services have significant relationship with performance. The result also indicates that, there is no significant relationship between firm size performance and technical competence and Performance. We also found that advisory service mediates the relationship between owner manager knowledge and the complexity of marketing decision. The findings of this study will benefit owner/managers of SMEs, regulatory agencies, accounting firms, government at all levels and will also serve as frame of reference to future studies

The Mediating Effect between Some Determinants of SME Performance in Nigeria

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of owner/manager knowledge, competitive intensity, complexity of marketing, technical competence, firm size with the mediation of advisory services on the performance of Nigerian SMEs. The study employed structured questionnaire survey involving a sample of 278 manufacturing SMEs operating in Kano State, a total of 198 valid questionnaires were completed and returned representing 71 percent response rate. Evidence suggests that there is significant relationship between owner/manager knowledge, complexity of marketing decision and technical competence and advisory services. In contrast, the result found no significant relationship between firm size and advisory services. Similarly, the result found that owner/manager knowledge, complexity of marketing decision, technical competence and advisory services have significant relationship with performance. The result also indicates that, there is no significant relationship between firm size performance and technical competence and Performance. We also found that advisory service mediates the relationship between owner manager knowledge and the complexity of marketing decision. The findings of this study will benefit owner/managers of SMEs, regulatory agencies, accounting firms, government at all levels and will also serve as frame of reference to future studies

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Determinants of Acceptance among Healthcare Workers, Academics and Tertiary Students in Nigeria

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in millions of human deaths, prompting the rapid development and regulatory approval of several vaccines. Although Nigeria implemented a COVID-19 vaccination program on 15 March 2021, low vaccine acceptance remains a major chal-lenge. To provide insight on factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH), we conducted a national survey among healthcare workers, academics, and tertiary students, between 1 September 2021 and 31 December 2021. We fitted a logistic regression model to the data and exam-ined factors associated with VH to support targeted health awareness campaigns to address public

ASYMMETRIC IMPACT OF SOME SELECTED MACROECONOMIC VARIABLES ON NATURAL GAS CONSUMPTION IN NIGERIA

This study examined the impact of macroeconomic variables on natural gas consumption in Nigeria during the period 1980–2021 using nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model. Findings indicated that, natural gas consumption falls with exchange rate appreciation, and rises with depreciation in exchange rate in Nigeria. Also, natural gas consumption falls with increase in inflation rate, and increases with the fall in the rate of inflation. Increase in money supply reduces natural gas consumption, so also decrease in money supply. Finally, the results also revealed that, a rise in economic growth increases natural gas consumption, and as well, a fall in economic growth raises natural gas consumption in Nigeria. The study therefore recommends that, effective use of monetary policy tools in checking the growth of money supply, exchange rate and inflation rate could be of help in boosting natural gas consumption and stirring up economic growth in the country. Since natural gas consumption responds negatively to the changes in the exchange rate, implying that, exchange rate depreciation discourages importation, foreign exchange demand, and propel domestic production which in turn results in more natural gas consumption and improved growth and development in the country.&nbsp

EFFECT OF RISK COMPONENTS ON OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY OF DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN NIGERIA A STUDY OF LISTED DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN NIGERIA

oai:ojs2.gujeds.com.ng:article/1The main objective of this study is to examine effect of risk components on operational efficiency of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria.  The data to be used for the study will be extracted from secondary sources only. The data will be panel data which will be subjected to time and cross-sectional attributes and this will enable us to study innovation and performance of firms over time and as well as across the sampled quoted banks. The findings of the study revealed that credit risk increases the operational efficiency of Deposit money Banks. Also, the study found that liquidity risk has negative and significant effect on operational efficiency. The result also found that capital adequacy has positive and significant effect on operational efficiency. The study recommended that the management of the Deposit Money Banks should device viable measurement for evaluating the risk components confronting the banking operation and not to rely on the bank model with an assumption that that risk is incorporated into bank output without explicitly modeling its role in explaining inefficiency. This is because failure to account for risk-taking may lead to biased estimations of bank efficiency and misleading estimates of scale economies and cost elasticities